MP CM discusses investor-friendly policy changes at Mumbai meet

MP government is continuously making amendments and changes in industrial policy and other sectors to make investment in the state easy for interested parties, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said in Mumbai.

The state government is continuously making amendments and changes in industrial policy and other sectors to make investment in MP easy for interested parties, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said in Mumbai on Tuesday.

The Madhya Pradesh government plans to develop 27 new industrial parks for sectors like textiles, infotech tourism, and food processing among others at an investment of Rs 3,000 crore in a phased manner over the next five years.

On the sidelines of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) national convention here, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that his government has already identified a 25,600-hectare land bank to develop industries.

His government has already drafted policies for these sectors, he said, adding that it had has also changed policies to expedite industrial development in the state. One of the major initiatives in this area is a single-window clearance for projects, he said.

As part of his promotional tours for the Global Investors' Summit to be held next month in Indore, the CM held discussions with industrialists on potential investments and the facilities being offered for the same by the state government.

Suggestions were also solicited from the potential investors. Chouhan said that he expects participation from 28 countries and all the big domestic industrial houses. The summit is scheduled to begin in Indore on October 8 and end on October 10.

"So far, we have got consent from 28 countries for participation at the summit. Moreover, almost all big industrialists from across the country are also attending the event," he said.

MP had held such summits in 2012 in which MoUs worth Rs 2,06,000 had been signed. "So far we have received investment of Rs 1,50,000 crore. We have not set a target in terms of MoUs for this year," Chouhan said.

Speaking about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Digital India' plan, Chouhan said that his administration would implement it in letter and spirit. "We have already started working on a Digital Madhya Pradesh plan," he said.

"We have changed various norms. For example, we have made provisions for value added tax (VAT) refund of up to 75 per cent, with immediate effect. Earlier, this used to take up to three years. The remaining 25% amount will be refunded after proper assessment," he said.

The CM said that during the past few years, the state has especially focused on developing infrastructure including roads, water and electricity. Public private participation (PPP) concept has been successfully implemented in various projects in state. At present, the focus is on renewable energy with target of producing 4000 megawatt of power in this sector. There is also proposal to industrially develop the ravines of Chambal under the PPP mode.